My Daddy's Where He Belongs
by wulfpatronus
Summary: When eight-year-old Randy starts to miss his father, he feels himself start to cry but little does he know that his father has a BIG surprise in store for his family. Randy also loses a tooth. A fluffy one shot! Please enjoy and don't judge! Excuse the typos! I believe I wrote this when I was tired!


It was a normal Saturday at the Taylor household in December of 1990. Tim was on the road selling tools and Jill was home with five-year-old Mark, eight-year-old Randy and nine-year-old Brad. Tim sold tools for Binford and worked thirty weeks a year (A/N: The show says it's thirty weeks). Jill stayed at home with their two rambunctious sons, running the house. The boys were too young to go to school, so they remained back home with Jill.

It was a cold winter day in Detroit. The boys loved playing outside, but Jill made sure to stay with them so no one snatched them and so they were safe. If their neighbor, Wilson, was outside, he'd babysit and she'd do laundry. The yard had toys cluttered in it, but Jill cleaned them up after supper. The yard was tidy for having two toddlers, but no one seemed to mind since they were friendly.

Wilson was their next door neighbor. He was about fifty years old and had dark gray hair that was hidden under a fishing hat. Usually, he kept to himself, but he'd visit the Taylors and help Jill with the boys at times. The family regarded him as a father figure and a grandfather figure. The boys would smile with glee when they saw him and the parents were no different.

Inside the house, it looked like a family lived there too. There was a rack that had held two big coats and three small ones. The bookshelf held adult books and kid books mixed along with a copy of the Bible. The computer sat on the desk with a rolling chair by it. The fridge had pictures of the family and another coat rack. The table was set for five, with a high chair replacing one of the chairs. There was a floral chair and a table that had old toy cars and a lamp. There was a peach couch that sat six and a TV with a VCR and a stereo along with some video tapes.

There was a door that led to the basement, but there was nothing but storage. There was a bathroom for the kids that held a training potty for the younger son and bath toys for both. There was a guest room with a floral patterned bed. The next bedroom was the older sons, Brad and Randy. There were bunk beds with a brown chest of drawers and a toy box. Mark's was a brown bed and dinosaur bedding. There was a brown toy box and other toys with a basketball hoop.

Eight-year-old Randy Taylor sat in his room, wearing a white shirt with a gray sweater with jeans. With a glum look, Randy played with his truck, fighting tears.

He missed his father (who was on the road selling tools). This wasn't the week that he was supposed to be here, Randy didn't expect him to come. It wasn't a new thing, so Randy knew that he was being a baby. Still, lately, he had been missing having his father around often. He loved his mother's hugs and being with her, but he wanted to hear his father's voice. He loved hearing the "grunt" from his dad and wrestling with him along with his father laughing at his corny jokes.

 _Dad, I wish you were home more often,_ Randy thought to himself. _Please get a job that lets you see us more often, I miss you._

Unexpectedly, Randy started to cry and he let tears run down his face. He hugged the stuffed dog that his father had gotten him close to his chest. He knew that Brad would make fun of him, but he didn't care. He had held back tears for days now and they finally escaped, letting him feel better.

He heard footsteps that sounded like an adult male's, but he figured it was Wilson. His father didn't cry often, but he never yelled at them for crying. He or their mom would just hold them and let them cry into them. He had cried himself to sleep last night when he wanted his father. He had a tight bond with his mother, but he also loved having his father's attention.

He was the "forgotten child" that seemed to happen to every middle child. Either Brad (who was the oldest) or Mark (the baby) stole his attention. He played with his brother all the time though. Since his brother Brad had tried things, their mom knew better than to let Randy try them. Randy had been there to help Brad, but they still were stopped after trying it once. Mark didn't get everything he wanted since his parents believed that would cause them to be brats. He agreed with that. Still, he knew things that older and younger kids knew so he was happy.

"I miss Dad," Randy said to himself as he heard the door open. Brad had gone to sled with a family and Mark was napping in bed.

The door opened and a familiar figure walked into Randy's room. He was tall with black hair that was an 80's hairstyle with bright blue eyes. He was in a University of Michigan sweater with jeans. He knew immediately who it was.

"Did my favorite five-year-old miss me?" Tim's voice made Randy want to cry from happiness.

"Dad!" Randy ran to him and started crying again.

Tim knelt down and stroked Randy's head, his arms hugging him close to him.

"What's the matter, buddy?" Tim looked at him and Randy had tears coming down his cheeks, with Tim wiping them away, stroking his cheek.

Randy wiped at his eyes with his hands. "I missed you Dad, I cried myself to sleep last night. I know I'm a big boy, but I miss you playing with us. I want you to be home more and to help Mom tuck us in. Please don't be mad."

Tim kissed his head and stood up, holding Randy in his arms. Randy had his arms around Tim's neck, tears running down his face.

"I'd never be mad, Randy. You know that I don't get mad at you for missing me or your brothers for missing me. Big boys cry too. I did when my dad died and when I'm away from you guys. I have news that you, your brothers and Mom will love."

"You do?" Randy asked as Tim wiped Randy's nose.

Tim nodded. "I got a job hosting a TV show about tools. That means I'll be home a lot more to take care of you guys and Mom." Tim tickled Randy and Randy laughed with delight.

"Will you play with me? I'm lonely. Mom was busy with the laundry, Mark's at a friend's and Brad's sledding," Randy had sad eyes and knew that his father was soft when it came to those kinds of things.

"How about we surprise Mom and your brothers and then you can go to the tool store with me, just you?" Tim asked and kissed Randy's head.

Randy nodded eagerly. "Just you and me?"

Tim smiled. "Yup, just me and my favorite little comedian."

Randy hugged his father and wriggled his tooth. It fell right into his hand. With a gasp, Randy whimpered and Tim chuckled, looking at the small tooth in his hand. _I lost another tooth! I get a dollar like Brad did yesterday!_ Randy though. Tim carried him to the bathroom and set him on the counter.

"Dad, does this mean the tooth fairy's coming for me tonight?" Randy asked and his father cleaned out his mouth with a gauze and he bit down on it for a while.

Tim took the bloody gauze out and saw that the bleeding had stopped. "You bet, buddy, and we can make today all about you. We'll go to your favorite restaurant and we can go to the interactive science museum."

Randy gave a toothy grin. "Really?"

Tim nodded with a smile. "You bet, buddy. How about we go surprise your mom?"

Randy nodded and jumped down, running down the stairs to find his mom. Jill was putting laundry in a basket. Sneaking behind his father, Randy walked with him into the garage and snuck behind his mother.

Tim put a finger to his lips and smiled. "Jill, did you miss me?"

His mother turned around and hugged him, starting to cry a little. He hugged her with a smile and kissed her.

"I get to host my own cable tool show called Tool Time. Now I get to be home a lot more and help with the boys," Tim smiled at her.

Jill looked at him with a tearful smile and hugged him. "Oh, Tim!"

Tim smiled at her. "Randy also has something to tell you."

"Mom, I lost a tooth!" Randy ran up to her and showed her a bag with a tooth in it.

Jill smiled at her middle son and hugged him. "That's great, honey! You know who gets to come tonight!"

Randy looked at her. "Can I go find Brad and show him? He and Mark might be home now!"

Tim nodded. Randy ran into the backyard where his older and little brother were. Brad was playing with a soccer ball while Mark was playing with his truck. With a grin, Randy held out a bag that held his tooth and Brad ran up to him with a grin.

"Well, you know who comes tonight, right?" Brad smiled at his brother.

Randy nodded. "Guess who's home? Go look in the kitchen with me!"

The boys scampered in and Brad and Mark broke into grins.

"Dad!" The boys ran to him and Tim hugged all three of them with a smile.

"Guess what? I get to be home with you guys more! I got my own cable tool show and I get to see you guys more!"

The boys gasped happily and Randy hugged his mother.

"Alright! That means no more being gone for weeks?" Brad asked.

Tim nodded. "You bet. Starting today, I'll be home every day. My show only films from 3:30 to four so I'm home a lot of the day."

Jill hugged them. "How about we go get ice cream?"

The boys nodded and they headed to get it. The family was now reunited and happy…until they had their daughter in 1994 and their family was complete.


End file.
